A roast for Dorothea Farris

ASPEN ” Outgoing Pitkin County Commissioner Dorothea Farris was applauded and humorously roasted at the Dec. 17 commissioners meeting, her last after 12 years on the Board of County Commissioners.

A laudatory proclamation was read by board chair Jack Hatfield, who occasionally has crossed swords with Farris over policy issues, and the two shared a hug after Hatfield concluded.

The proclamation praised Farris for her service, not only on the Board of County Commissioners but also as the county’s representative to Colorado Counties, Inc., the Roaring Fork Transportation Authority and, prior to being elected to the BOCC, her work as a school teacher in Carbondale and a member of the Aspen School Board, among other tasks.

She also was praised for bringing “her expertise in reading, writing and arithmetic to her post,” where she was “the go-to person for proof reading and how to use a semi-colon,” a reference that got a big laugh from her fellow commissioners and the county staff crowding the room.

Farris will step down on Jan. 17, when incoming commissioner George Newman is sworn into office.